Morocco in 2024: A Land of Vibrant Cities, Ancient Heritage, and Breathtaking Landscapes
Morocco, also known as Al-Mamlaka al-Maghribiyya, or the “Kingdom of the West,” is a state of just over 33,750,000 inhabitants, located at the northwestern tip of the African continent, within the geographical area of the Maghreb. In addition to the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Morocco also borders Algeria to the east/southeast and the Western Sahara region to the south, not counting the small enclaves (Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Melilla, Ceuta, Peñón de Alhucemas) and islands (Chafarinas, Canary Islands, and Perejil) belonging to Spain. The political system of the country is a constitutional, social, and democratic monarchy, established in 1962 by King Hassan II.
From a geographical and morphological point of view, Morocco is characterized by the presence of two large mountain ranges: the Rif, located close to the Mediterranean coast, and the Atlas, which crosses practically the entire country from southwest to northeast with peaks that exceed 4,000 meters in height, such as Jbel Toubkal, the highest mountain in the country, which reaches 4,165 meters above sea level. In the southern part of the country, the immense Sahara desert extends, where settlements tend to become increasingly sparse and then almost disappear. The few rivers in Morocco, mostly non-navigable and used exclusively for irrigation, almost all follow a south/northwest flow direction, flowing mainly into the Mediterranean, such as the Moulouya, the main river of the state which, born in the Atlas heights, ends up flowing into the sea near the Algerian border.
A Glimpse into Moroccan History
The history of Morocco and North Africa is very ancient. The first fairly reliable evidence is from the Kingdom of the Moors, which extended between Morocco and Algeria around the 4th century BC. Later, the area was influenced by the Carthaginians, and then occupied by the Romans who, in 42 BC, two years after the killing of the last king Ptolemy, declared it the new province of Mauretania Tingitana. In 429 AD, the Vandals, a Germanic population, descended into Morocco and remained there for about a century, until 533, when they were defeated and expelled by the Byzantines. In 683, the region was conquered by the troops of Uqba b. Nafi, while in 788, for the first time, a local dynasty came to power—the Idrissids—founded by Idris I, who began to spread Islam and the word professed one hundred and fifty years earlier by Mohammed. This first dynasty of Berber origin was followed by others, Shiite, Sunni, and Berber, who fought over the state until the early 18th century, when the European superpowers, especially England and France, began to penetrate the territory in search of new commercial outlets.
The greatest friction occurred later, between the 19th and 20th centuries, when international tensions with Spain, France, and Germany brought death and destruction all the way to Morocco. The French recognized Moroccan independence only in March 1956, when Tangier was returned to local sovereignty, and when Mohamed ibn Yusuf became king with the name of Mohammed V.
Rabat: The Administrative Capital
The administrative capital is Rabat, a city of about one and a half million inhabitants located on the Atlantic coast, on the left bank of the Bouregreg River. Around the actual town, there is a vast metropolitan area, in which just over 800,000 people live. The history, artistic and cultural wealth, and the extraordinary Islamic architecture that distinguish Morocco seem almost exemplified in Rabat, where there are archaeological sites, palaces, and mosques of extraordinary beauty.
The first thing you notice when you arrive in the city are the city walls, built at the end of the 12th century by the Almohads, composed of two very long rectilinear walls, more than five kilometers long in total, almost two meters thick, and eight meters high. Within the area delimited by the wall, which extends for about 120 hectares, are the most interesting tourist destinations: the Chella Necropolis, the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower, and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. As for local culture, visits to the Public Library, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Higher Institute of Music and Dance will provide a rather extensive knowledge of it.
Casablanca: The Economic Capital
The most populous city is Casablanca, which, in the last census carried out in 2004, recorded 3,192,000 inhabitants. The vast metropolis, located within the Greater Casablanca region, is also the main port and the economic capital of the country, home to most of the international companies and firms. The center, modern and dominated by large recently built buildings, has lost much of the ancient charm that still surrounds many other cities in Morocco, in favor of a “Westernizing” urban skyline, in clear contrast with its origins. Among the monuments and places of interest to visit are: the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993 based on a design by the French architect Michel Pinseau, the second largest mosque in the world, dominated by a 210-meter-high minaret that also serves as a lighthouse for the port; the Old Medina, one of the few traces of the past still visible, surrounded by a wall built in the 16th century and characterized by narrow, winding streets; and the Catholic church of Notre Dame de Lourdes, built between 1953 and 1956 and made particularly interesting by the precious stained glass windows crafted by Gabriel Loire, a master glassmaker from Chartres.
Fes: The Holy City
The third city of the state is Fes, or Fez, the holy city of Morocco, built at an altitude of about 300 meters at the bottom of a fertile valley in the Fes-Boulemane region, in the central-northern part of the country. The old city, a maze of narrow streets surrounded by mosques, markets, and buildings built according to the classic canons of Islamic architecture, is one of the most intriguing places in the entire Islamic world, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. To move around the medina, you can only rely on your own two feet, given the size of the alleys and the ups and downs of the hills.
Marrakech and Other Major Cities
Also very well known is Marrakech, a city of just over a million inhabitants located about 150 kilometers from the Atlantic coast. The medina is simply splendid and has also been included by UNESCO among the world heritage sites. The central square is the Jama’a el-Fnaa, while the first building you notice is the Kutubiya Mosque, dominated by the minaret of the same name, almost seventy meters high, which is among the oldest still present in the world. The area to the north of the square is designated for the souks, or covered markets, large expanses of merchandise displayed in small squares and streets that extend almost to the foot of the Ben Youssef Mosque and the Madrasa of the same name.
Agadir: A Beacon for Tourism
One of the main attractions of maritime tourism is Agadir, a town of 670,000 inhabitants that has seen extraordinary development in recent years. The settlement, which has always been a reference port for any vessel intending to sail along the coast of West Africa, is located in the southwestern part of Morocco and, thanks to the introduction of new and modern accommodation facilities and infrastructures mainly related to transport, has experienced a real tourist boom, also given the beauty of the coastal coastline and sea waters.
Climate and Natural Parks
The country has about ten natural parks in total, and the most interesting are: Toubkal, the oldest (established in 1942) and the highest, at over 4,000 meters above sea level; and the Souss-Massa national park, south of Agadir, established in 1991.
The climate of Morocco presents very significant differences depending on the conformation of the territory that is taken into consideration, varying from the oceanic and Mediterranean climate of the areas bordering the sea, to the mountainous/continental climate of the mountain areas and plateaus, up to the desert. As for the coastal area, the climatic conditions are pleasant, with mild winters and temperate summers, with maximum temperatures that rarely exceed 31/32 degrees, and sea breezes that invite you to relax on the coast.
Transportation in Morocco
Air transport has seen an extraordinary development in recent years. Today, there are fifteen airports in the country, although the most important and busiest is Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca, which in recent years has become the third African airport in terms of passenger traffic. The railway system, forgotten by the authorities for many years, has recently undertaken a project to renovate and modernize its facilities, with plans for two high-speed lines on which the TGVs made available by the French government will run. The road network is only partially paved and therefore not yet capable of allowing rapid travel throughout the country, although the Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM), the company responsible for managing the motorway network, has promised major works for the next few years, which should bring Morocco to second place, after South Africa, among the African states with the greatest number of kilometers of practicable motorway.
